The Occasion Company Blog

When to Make Your Wedding Website: A Planning Timeline

By The Occasion Company  ·  October 2026  ·  7 min read

# When to Make Your Wedding Website: A Planning Timeline

One of the most common wedding planning questions has a surprisingly simple answer: earlier than you think. Your wedding website isn't a last-minute detail, it's the hub your guests rely on for months, and each planning phase has a version of the site that should be live.

Here's a month-by-month timeline for what to build and when to publish it.

12+ Months Out: Claim Your Spot

You don't need a finished website a year out. You need two things: a domain name and a placeholder page.

Domain names are first-come, first-served, and the good ones go fast, especially if your names are common. Grab yours as soon as you're engaged and the wedding feels real. It doesn't have to be fancy; many couples use a combination of their names or a wedding hashtag.

The placeholder page can be beautifully simple: your names, the wedding date, the city, and one line like "Details coming soon, save the date!" This does two important jobs. First, it stops you from losing the domain to someone else. Second, it gives you a link to share the moment anyone asks "when's the wedding?", which starts happening immediately after the engagement.

Your to-do list at 12+ months:

• Choose and register your domain name
• Put up a simple placeholder page with names, date, and location
• Start a running document of details you'll add later (venue options, hotel ideas, registry thoughts)

8–10 Months Out: Launch With Your Save-the-Dates

This is when your website goes from placeholder to real. Your save-the-dates and your website launch should happen together, the save-the-date points guests to the site, and the site gives them something useful when they arrive.

At this stage, publish the foundational pages:

• Home: Your names, wedding date, and a photo or two. Keep it warm and simple.
• Our Story: A short version of how you met. Guests love this, and it gives the site personality.
• Venue & Travel: The city, the venue name, and, critically, hotel information. Out-of-town guests start booking travel and hotels as soon as they get the save-the-date, so hotel block details and booking deadlines belong on the site now, not later.
• Schedule (draft): Even a rough outline helps: "Ceremony and reception on Saturday, with a welcome gathering Friday evening." You can refine times later.
• FAQ (starter): Answer the questions you're already getting: Is it indoors or outdoors? Are kids invited? What's the dress code vibe?

You don't need the RSVP form yet, it's too early. What you need is a site that makes early planners feel taken care of.

Your to-do list at 8–10 months:

• Launch the full site alongside save-the-dates
• Publish hotel block info with booking deadlines
• Add a draft schedule and starter FAQ
• Include the website URL on the save-the-date itself

6 Months Out: Fill In the Details

By six months out, most of your big vendors are booked and your plans are taking shape. This is the website's biggest content update, the phase where it becomes genuinely useful.

Add or finalize:

• Final schedule with ceremony time, cocktail hour, reception, and any Friday/Sunday events
• Venue details: full addresses, parking info, transportation/shuttle plans
• Dress code described in practical terms (see our guide to avoiding vague dress codes)
• Registry links, by now your registry should be built and linked
• RSVP form, build it now, even if you're not sharing it yet. Test it thoroughly while there's no pressure.
• Expanded FAQ: plus-one policy, kids policy, dietary accommodations, photo policy (unplugged ceremony?)

This is also the time to review the whole site on your phone. Most guests will experience your website exclusively on mobile, if anything is hard to read or tap, fix it now.

Your to-do list at 6 months:

• Publish final schedule, venue details, and dress code
• Link your registry
• Build and test the RSVP form
• Expand the FAQ with your policies
• Full mobile review of every page

2–3 Months Out: Invitations Go Out, RSVPs Come In

When formal invitations go out, typically 6 to 8 weeks before the wedding, your website should be complete and polished. The invitation points to the site; the site collects the RSVPs.

Final pre-invitation checklist:

• RSVP form is live and tested. Deadline set 3–4 weeks before the wedding, displayed prominently.
• Every page is current. Times, addresses, hotel deadlines, verify all of it.
• Contact info is listed. Name a point person for guest questions so they don't all come to you.
• Registry is final. No "coming soon" links.

Once invitations are out, your job shifts from building to monitoring. Watch RSVP responses come in, and plan your reminder: one nudge to non-responders a few days before the deadline, then individual follow-ups after it.

Your to-do list at 2–3 months:

• Send invitations with the website URL
• Confirm the RSVP form is live with a clear deadline
• Schedule your RSVP reminder messages
• Do a final accuracy review of every page

1 Month Out: Final Updates

In the last month, your website needs only small, precise updates, but they matter enormously because guests are actively checking details as they pack and plan travel.

• Confirm final times. If anything shifted, update the site immediately and notify your wedding party.
• Add day-of logistics: shuttle pickup times and locations, parking reminders, the rain plan if your event is outdoors.
• Update the FAQ with anything guests have been asking about repeatedly. If five people asked about the bar situation, add it.
• Close the RSVP form after your final headcount goes to the caterer. Replace it with a note: "RSVP is now closed, contact us directly with any questions."

Do one last full read-through of the entire site the week before the wedding. Read it as a guest seeing it for the first time. Fix anything confusing.

Your to-do list at 1 month:

• Lock in final times and logistics
• Add shuttle, parking, and weather-plan details
• Close the RSVP form after final numbers are in
• Final full-site review

After the Wedding: The Site's Second Life

Don't let your website expire into a dead link. It has a meaningful second act:

• Photo gallery. Share professional photos (and a link where guests can upload their own). This becomes the page people revisit most.
• Thank-you notes. A heartfelt message to everyone who celebrated with you, and a note about when formal thank-yous are going out.
• Keep it live. Friends and family will look back at this site for years. Before it expires, download your photos and save a copy of the content.

Check how long your website stays up. Some builders take sites down after a subscription lapses, if your photos and memories live there, make sure you know the terms.

The Short Version

| When | What to do | |---|---| | 12+ months | Register domain, publish placeholder page | | 8–10 months | Launch full site with save-the-dates; add hotel info | | 6 months | Finalize schedule, venue details, registry, RSVP form | | 2–3 months | Send invitations; RSVPs open with a firm deadline | | 1 month | Final logistics updates; close RSVP form | | After | Photo gallery and thank-yous; keep it live |

The throughline: your website should always be one step ahead of what guests need. Launch it early, update it as plans solidify, and treat it as the single source of truth from engagement to after-party.

Ready When You Are

You don't need to build all of this yourself or learn a website builder on top of planning a wedding. The Occasion Company builds custom, done-for-you wedding websites, launched early, updated as your plans evolve, for a flat $49 at theoccasioncompany.co. One price, no subscription, yours to keep.